


A Quiet Moment

by Bryonia_Alba



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-11-05 17:37:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11018277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bryonia_Alba/pseuds/Bryonia_Alba
Summary: Neville and Luna spend a quiet moment together after the battle.





	A Quiet Moment

**Author's Note:**

> Teenyfic using the prompts Neville/Luna and 'scary'. The scary part was more metaphorical than anything else. Written July 2010.

Neville stiffened at the sound of broken glass crunching underfoot, fingers tightening around his wand. He knew it wasn’t an Acromantula – they made a scuttling sound, the kind made by too many feet. This intruder only had two, and they were making absolutely no attempt at stealth. A friend then, most likely. He still didn’t loosen his grip on his wand.

“It’s me, Neville.” Luna’s voice floated toward him, and he relaxed. “Ginny said I might find you here just before she left with the rest of her family. Would you rather I left?”

He shook his head, patting the empty space on the potting bench on which he sat, one of the few undamaged pieces he’d found in the greenhouses. The giants had been thorough in their destruction. “No, it’s okay. Have a seat.”

Luna accepted the invitation, folding her hands neatly in her lap and crossing her ankles under the bench, tidy and compact. Her wand was tucked behind her ear. Soot from the battle smudged her cheek and blackened one eyebrow. She didn’t ask how he was doing, or whether or not he was okay, or why he was alone in the broken remains of the greenhouses when there were still acromantulas and possibly a Death Eater or three still on the grounds, waiting for nightfall before attempting escape. She also didn’t say anything about wrackspurts or Blibbering Humdingers, letting Neville absorb the silence around them.

It was too quiet, truth be told. The light breeze created a rustle of leaves, but it was a distant sound, made by the trees in the Forbidden Forest. The greenhouse plants were destroyed, trampled underfoot, the leaves and flowers shredded and torn among pieces of terra cotta crockery and broken bits of wood and shattered glass. He hadn’t been able to think of another place to go, though, to escape the strange mix of celebration and death and adulation back at the castle.

“Professor Sprout is going to be heartbroken,” Neville murmured, more to himself than to his companion.

“We’re all heartbroken, one way or another,” Luna replied softly. 

“Maybe we’re all just broken.” Neville shifted on the bench, stretching his spine until he heard a muffled pop, and sighed in relief. “Ginny said you could find me here? Why were you looking for me?”

Luna turned her head, looking at him with wide blue eyes. “I wasn’t looking for you. I was content to let you spend a bit of time alone, because you needed it so much. Your grandmother is looking for you, though. I think she wants to take you home.”

He shook his head. “I can’t. There’s still too much to do.”

“It will still be here tomorrow. Besides, I think what she really wants to do is take you home and tuck you into bed and kiss you good-night on your forehead, all the things she hasn’t been able to do since you were small.” Her eyes grew distant. “I get the feeling Daddy wants to do the same with me. I think a lot of parents will do that with their children tonight, no matter how old they are.”

“I don’t think Gran’s tucked me into bed since I was six.” Neville let out a small huff of laughter. 

“It’s a scary world out there, even though the war’s over. Maybe they want to pretend, just for one night, that they can protect us from the monsters under the bed. The make-believe ones, not the real ones. And tomorrow you can be a hero again. I know you don’t think so, but what you did with the snake was very brave, and people need someone to look up to while the dust settles. Just remember to stick up for yourself and take some time to be alone when you need to.”

“I don’t want to be a hero,” Neville groaned, scrubbing his cheeks with both hands. “All I did was do what Harry told me to do. I’m not Harry.”

“No, you’re not, and that’s a good thing. There’s a place for Nevilles too.” Luna nodded sagely. Leaning over, she kissed his cheek, her lips cool and dry against his skin. “We should go back before your grandmother starts to fret.”

“Or before she comes looking for me herself.” Neville got to his feet, holding out a hand to help Luna stand also. “You’ll be here tomorrow?”

“Bright and early. Professor Sprout will be happy to see you.”

She kept her hand in his as they walked back to the castle and toward the future.


End file.
